CONTAINER DEPOSIT SCHEME LOOMS BUT ISSUES REMAIN UNADDRESSED

February 9, 2017: As NSW businesses brace themselves for the July 1 introduction of the Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) – despite the many unknowns surrounding the scheme and consumers being largely unaware of it – the Australasian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) has made a last ditch plea to the NSW Government to consider a more viable and sensible start date.
The AACS has previously urged the NSW Government to delay the proposed start date for the CDS introduction of 1 July 2017 to enable the practical rollout of the infrastructure and third party agreements required to deliver the scheme.
However repeated efforts to speak to politicians from the major parties about this serious issue have proved futile. In fact, not one member of the NSW Government or Opposition has even had the decency to respond.
AACS CEO Jeff Rogut said it represents a new low in terms of a lack of commitment to consultation.
“The AACS has written to politicians from the major parties outlining the very real issues and problems that await the introduction of the scheme under the current proposed timetable. Regrettably, these correspondences and requests to meet have not even been acknowledged,” Mr Rogut said.
“Under the current timeline, the NSW Government will appoint a CDS Scheme Coordinator and Collection Network Operator in April 2017. This leaves just eight to ten weeks to establish contracts with third party collection points and physically install the necessary infrastructure to ensure the scheme is effective.
“Anyone with a basic understanding of contractual negotiation, retail environments – not to mention the machinations of Government – would know that such a tight window is not viable,” he said.
Consider a convenience store franchise or licence network with its own line of home brand water. It will be faced with the cost of having to implement new labels, sell through existing stock in a brief time period, and potentially be left with obsolete stock on hand – causing significant financial losses.
Then, when you consider these problems in the context of a larger manufacturer with hundreds of labels, the enormity of the financial costs become more apparent.
“Community confusion, retailer disruption and other serious unintended consequences for the convenience industry and consumers awaits. And no-one from either side of politics seems interested enough to even respond to these concerns,” Mr Rogut said.
“Small businesses often bemoan the lack of consultation Governments typically undertake when introducing new laws and regulations. But in this instance the consultation has been non-existent.
“We were hopeful the new Premier would have adopted a more willing attitude to work with industry. It’s not too late to work with us to come up with a more realistic timeframe to give the CDS a chance to achieve the litter reduction outcomes it has been designed to,” Mr Rogut said.
The CDS is intended to operate as a refund scheme, whereby anyone who returns an empty eligible beverage container to an approved collection point receives a 10 cent refund, funded by beverage suppliers, which also fund associated handling and administration fees.
But Mr Rogut said consumers will understandably be sceptical about participating if collection points are not in appropriately prominent and accessible locations.
“The likelihood for reputational damage to the industry and the NSW Government is obvious. A staged implementation makes much more sense for all stakeholders,” he said.
“Staging the CDS will allow for collection points, packaging and other aspects to be scaled up over time. The scheme threatens to become an administrative nightmare for various businesses in the convenience industry, resulting in significant financial costs, which can be minimised with a more appropriate, staged timeline.
“We are calling on the NSW Government to harmonise the timing, structure and details of the CDS with proposed schemes in other states to best mitigate against cross border issues which will invariably arise.
“Ultimately, the scheme aims to change consumer behaviour and reduce litter. It will be counterproductive to introduce a half-baked scheme in an unviable timeframe and risk jeopardising its integrity from the outset.”
Further information:                                                                               Media enquiries:              
Jeff Rogut                                                                                                        Stephen Naylor
Chief Executive Officer                                                                          Wise McBaron Communication
Australasian Association of Convenience Stores                                Ph: +61 (2) 9279 4770
Ph: +61 467 873 789